Chile earthquakes

M5.0 earthquake 61 km WSW of Illapel, Chile

A magnitude 5.0 earthquake struck 61 km WSW of Illapel, Chile on Mon, Oct 15, 2012, 6:04 PM GMT-3 (21:04 UTC), 24 km (15 mi) below the surface.

Los Vilos forecast More in Chile

Map

Where this earthquake was located, with the others nearby. Select one for its page.

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The earthquake

Magnitude: 5.0 (Mwr, regional moment), moderate
Magnitude from: USGS National Earthquake Information Center
Local time: Mon, Oct 15, 2012, 6:04 PM GMT-3
UTC: 2012-10-15 21:04:20 UTC
Depth: 24.0 km (14.9 mi), shallow
Epicenter: 31.814° S, 71.787° W
Region: Chile
Felt reports: 6
Tsunami flag: No
Status: Reviewed by a seismologist

Magnitude estimates

Different scales measure different things and differ by a few tenths. The USGS marks one as preferred, and it is the one this page uses.

Mag.	Scale	Computed by	Notes
5.0	Mwr, regional moment	USGS National Earthquake Information Center	Preferred · Reviewed
5.13	Mw, moment	ISC-GEM global catalog	Final · ±0.1

What happened

The USGS’s account of the effects of this earthquake.

Felt (IV) at Salamanca and (II) at Coquimbo, La Serena, Quillota and Villa Alemana. Also felt at Lo Barnechea, Los Vilos and Quilpue.

From the USGS event page for usp000ju19. U.S. Geological Survey text and figures are in the public domain.

Did you feel it?

6 people reported to the USGS what they felt; the strongest reported shaking was II, weak shaking.

Fault motion and ground failure

How the rock slipped, from the moment tensor, and the USGS estimate of landslides and liquefaction.

Faulting: Oblique reverse
Nodal plane 1: Strike 316°, dip 23°, rake 52°
Nodal plane 2: Strike 176°, dip 72°, rake 105°

How well it is located

Reviewed by a seismologist.

Station coverage gap: 106°
Stations used: 203

Nearest places

Distance and direction from each place to the epicenter, with its forecast.

Nearby

Within 100 km, magnitude 2.0 and up: 10 in the 60 days after this one and 3 in the 30 days before it.

After

Before

Earthquakes today Chile earthquakes Live radar here

Sources

From the USGS Earthquake Hazards Program and its partner networks, event usp000ju19 (also filed as usb000d6cs, iscgem601835751). Read Sun, Oct 4, 2026, 4:01 PM UTC.